OG, Virtus.pro qualify for IEM Katowice

The international team beat the 'Colossus' with a Dust2 win that was a bit too close for comfort.

OG and Virtus.pro have booked spots in IEM Katowice's main stage following victories over Cloud9 and Renegades. The Flashpoint 2 champions, who have become the fourth CIS side to secure entry into the prestigious competition, barely had to break sweat to come out on top, while OG had to go the full distance to beat a stubborn C9, who fought back from 11-0 down on the decider map but stuttered at the final hurdle.

OG went all guns blazing on Nuke and stormed to a 10-2 lead after holding Cloud9 at bay. Things were starting to look desperate for C9 as the half reached its closing stages, but then the 'Colossus' managed to stabilise and made the scoreline more respectful before the side switch. Cloud9 continued to chip away at OG's lead and won a chaotic pistol, but there would be no respite for them as they lost control of the game in the following round and never managed to recover.

Cloud9 came out on Overpass looking a different side and strolled to an 11-1 lead with a strong defensive performance. OG then picked up the remaining three rounds of the half to keep themselves in it, with Nathan "⁠NBK-⁠" Schmitt leading the charge with 15 frags to his name, seven more than any of his teammates. Alex "⁠ALEX⁠" McMeekin's troops carried that momentum into the second half and quickly hit map point, fending off a late comeback attempt by OG just as overtime seemed inevitable.

NBK- went 18-3 as OG got off to a dream start on the T side of Dust2, surging to an 11-0 lead. Cloud9 still managed to pick up three rounds before the break, with Erick "⁠Xeppaa⁠" Bach and William "⁠mezii⁠" Merriman keeping the team in the game with a 2v5 clutch in the following pistol. The North American player kept OG's defence busy with great fragging and timely flank as Cloud9 brought the deficit to a solitary round, but there would be no comeback as Aleksi "⁠Aleksib⁠" Virolainen's troops tightened up and secured the map.

Meanwhile, viewers on the secondary stream were treated to another imperious display from Mareks "⁠YEKINDAR⁠" Gaļinskis, who topped the scoreboard on both maps of this one-sided series. Renegades came out the brighter of the two sides in both halves of Vertigo but offered little resistance when Virtus.pro had money to work with. Dust2 was even more lopsided as the CIS giants dismantled a shaky Australian defence before completing the rout just four rounds into the second half, with the Latvian star posting a 2.07 rating.